Moya Solomia…

She walked through the dim lights of the foyer, her sneakers dampening the sounds of her arrival. Her heart pulsated beneath her crisp loose white blouse worn over her see-through capris. She was a pro at what she set to do today, but this time it was different.

She sighed and was immediately startled at the loud boom of a bomb miles away, the sound accompanying the cacophony of the shelling in progress. The sanguine dusky sky seemed kaleidoscopic with the mixture of explosions. But nothing compared to the volcano boiling within her core waiting to erupt. Years of training helped her hold her resolve as the minutes to her mission’s finale arrived in this mansion amidst the war-torn Mariupol in Ukraine.

This was her chance towards her retribution.

She clutched at the frills above her chest, trying to control her thundering heart, and made her way to the designated bedroom. The only standing bedroom in the dilapidated mansion…  all planned for a clear view.

The door to the bedroom opened with a cringe-worthy creak, and she wondered if it would collapse anytime soon like the rest of the house.

“Laskavo prosymo… welcome Solomia…  I was waiting… As you see. This is the last time we meet. I don’t know when I will get to see you next. Pryydy moya lyubov…  come, my love. I brought this chair for you from that exhibition… Sadly we will have to let it go here….”  Fedir stood to his six feet, a soft smile spreading across his salt and pepper beard.

He was impeccably dressed in the finest attire; she knew it was his wedding suit. He had strangled his wife, her sister years ago. She was a little girl then and later found he had abducted her sister, and violated her. The press got wind of the situation and he was pressurised to tie the knot since he was an army general. The moment things settled he got rid of the ‘wife’.

She shivered within and gyrated her body, knowing what it did to him. The room was dark, and the staccato lights from the bombarding outside the city perimeters lit up his majestic face, the bullet mark on his forehead from eons ago shining to make him look ferocious. But she knew this man who now ran the largest drug cartel in and around Ukraine and was wanted by Interpol for years, loved her. They had been together for six months before Russia launched its attack. But she knew that already… she was sent to infiltrate his cartel.

She had grabbed the chance with open arms. She had since lived for this day ever since she had escaped to Russia after her sister died.

She was, after all, the femme fatale of the KGB, which eyed the moolah Fedir had to offer. Today was the last night of their rendezvous. He had needed time to accumulate his assets in a safe place and was now all set to disappear to some corner of Sweden. He had insisted she accompany him and she promised to join him soon after tying loose ends back home.

He hugged her, his hard embrace threatening to crush her ribs. She worried he would feel her pounding heart.

“Oh… moya Solomia…” he whispered into her ear, his warm breath making her want to throw up. He kissed her behind her ear and gripped her through her thick pants. She gasped and he silenced her as he crushed his mouth to hers.

Her hands snaked around his neck, and all her training now coming into action. She knew how he thought as she placed a palm on his heart. It raced like never before, and before she knew it, she found him seated on that chair with her straddling him. Moving her face away, she gripped at his hair just like she knew he loved and spoke. “Where is my parting gift? Moya podarunok?”

He chuckled.

“Moya lyubov, My love… go pick it up. It’s in that special safe. The password is your name. My bank passbook… I have a separate personal account in Swiss…Nominated you. I leave tonight forever, darling… Promise to join me…”

She nodded and jiggled her hips. He gripped her harder as he kissed her. She reveled in the final moments watching his so-called passion as her keen vision saw the red dot dancing on the dark cupboard above his head. It was her signal to move.

She had indicated by jiggling her hips… she had got the password to the safe.

She had already tried her hand to open it twice before but had failed and one more wrong attempt would cause the safe to destroy itself. She now had the access… the safe contained all his dealings too… all details of his clientele and various sources of funds. The KGB needed the intel and the funds.

For the last few years, they had tried, and nothing happened. Fedir was too cautious and had an entourage of the best bodyguards money could buy. But as the Russian-Ukranian relationships soured, they knew this was the time for their ace. Svetlana Volkov, operative name Solomia….

Svetlana, alais Solomia moved away, even as he smiled, caressing her head. The red dot loomed as their sniper held the fort; she was the only one between life and death for Fedir.

She looked out of the window, to see the power plant blown to smithereens and knew Fedir was a hopeless case too… She moved away abruptly, and before he could get his bearings, the deed was done.

She was wired today, so she knew her handlers had the password and must have stormed the safe by now.

She walked out to a waiting unmarked vehicle leaving her role behind, and now she was back to being Svetlana after yet another successful mission.

She shuddered as she looked at the burning scenery passing across, wiping away tears that streamed nonstop meandering their way through her makeup patches.

She had avenged her sister and many other young women whose honor the man had tarnished ruining families, much before the war did.

It wasn’t retribution…it was justice.

©priyagole